John Zarrella is CNN's principal correspondent for coverage of the U.S. space program, covering such events such as John Glenn’s 1998 return to space, the Mars Pathfinder mission and numerous space shuttle launches. Zarrella was the CNN network correspondent on site when the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster occurred. In 2011, Zarrella covered the final flights of the Space Shuttle program.

(CNN) - Newt Gingrich got a lot of mileage out of his comments on building a moon colony by 2020. Whether you think that should get him a one-way ticket to the moon on the first flight or you believe his vision is an inspiration, he did accomplish one big thing.

Gingrich got the conversation started. What kind of space program do we want? What kind can we afford? Had Gingrich not said what he said, the space program might have been totally ignored, as it has been so often in the past.

Miami, Florida (CNN) - Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is calling allegations that he embellished his family's history of immigrating to the United States from Cuba, "outrageous."

"To suggest my family's story is embellished for political gain is outrageous," Rubio said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday. "The dates I have given regarding my family's history have always been based on my parent's recollections of events that occurred over 55 years ago and which were relayed to me by them more than two decades after they happened. I was not made aware of the exact dates until very recently."FULL POST